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A Chimney Sweep Returns To Berlin

September 09, 2022 09:53 IST

With Russia cutting off natural gas supplies, Europeans are bracing themselves for a very cold winter.

As chilly weather approaches, Norbert Skrobek, the chimney sweep, gets to work in Berlin.

Skrobek says he is facing enormous demand from Berliners seeking to use coal or wood to heat their apartments as an alternative to natural gas due to skyrocketing energy prices.

Many older Berlin apartments have disused stoves that are still functional but require maintenance or certification to be restarted.

Chimney sweeps in Germany adhere to a very traditional practice that includes their distinctive work clothes little changed from the 19th century.

While actually cleaning soot and ash once dominated their labour, today they also perform inspections, consult clients on energy efficiency and determine parameters for installation of new heating systems.

Energy prices have risen enormously in Germany and across Europe this year due to the consequences of Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine.

IMAGE: Norbert Skrobek peers into a chimney opening on the roof of an apartment building. All photographs: Sean Gallup/Getty Images

IMAGE: Norbert speaks with resident Jürgen Pöschk over Jürgen's intent to replace his wood-burning stove with a more modern and energy efficient model.

IMAGE: Firewood lies under a wood-burning stove that its owner is seeking to replace with a more modern and energy efficient model.

IMAGE: Norbert makes sketches while measuring the dimensions of rooms for a client seeking to replace a wood-burning stove with a more modern and energy efficient model.

IMAGE: Norbert explains the properties of an original and still functional 19th-century tiled stove that owner Vinzenz Schönfelder, right, is hoping to once again use in the children's room of his apartment.

IMAGE: Norbert arrives to inspect a tiled stove that its owner is hoping to restart at an apartment building.

IMAGE: Norbert climbs a ladder to the roof of an apartment building.

IMAGE: Norbert and colleague Bodo Rogge prepare to use a tethered camera to inspect a chimney on the roof of an apartment building.

Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff.com
Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com

Rediff News Bureau